i was wondering what animal represents VN... we have the beaver in Canada, and the eagle in the state?.. i was thinking elephant/turtle/ox.. but really do we have 1?... my choice 'cuz elephant was used for war... and turtle is our treasure from Ho Hoan Kiem.. and I <3 it .. ox 'cuz we work hard for what we have... if there is or u think there is a national symbol plz share

Minh nghi con trau Hy a

Does a dragon count?

la con trau a?.. Hy cung nghi vay.. nhung hoi moi nguoi nghi sao..

why a dragon? con rong chau tien?

Con ếch.

Trong mấy tranh dân gian Đông Hồ, con ếch có nhiều phần được biểu tượng cho sư khôn ngoan, dễ dãi và an nhàn của người Việt.

Yup! Con Rồng Cháu Tiên

oh?.. vay minh duoc represented bang con ech.. this is kinda new to me... is there a story behind it.. or it's just 'cuz those qualities are what frog symbolized..??

Nếu không chấp nhận con rồng thì tôi nghỉ mình nên lấy con rùa đi.

Con trau con trau... minh tuoi trau symbol cua Seagame cung la trau ma.. TRAU ddii

Tại sao phải là con trâu? Tuổi của tôi là con heo, có lấy con heo được không?

ko.. trau cham chi con... heo thi`... Tuan cung biet heo nhu the nao ma

Vietnam's symbol is no animal. Nope Vietnam's symbol is much more greater than an animal.

Vietnam's symbol is HOPE. HOPE is what the Vietnamese have done to defeat all it's enemies against overwhelming odds. Hope is what is Vietnamese parents have for their children who can have more than they did when they flee Vietnam as boat people. Hope is for a better Vietnam against all odds.

Vietnam is a country based on hope. And so far hope has given Vietnam to defeat it's Super Power and World power enemies in war against all odds.

wow.. you guys forgot our famous Chim "Lac" ????

I didn't. Lac Long Quan va Con Rong Chau Tien. I mentioned it already.

Con chim Lạc là con chim gì ? tưởng tượng hay thiệt vậy ?

It's on the Dongson drum

I think con "trau" pretty much sums up the characteristics of the Vietnamese people: hardworking and honest.

Agreed.

so much discussion since i left !!... erm.. so con trau eh?... or chim Lac? what's the story? iono it.. i know what Dong Son's Drum is... and byron, there should be an animal 4 VN.. i think hope is a symbol for the "poorer" country.. it wasn't really introduced until last century is it??..

I agree with Chim Lạc as a national symbol. The Chinese also associate that image with us. They have a saying Việt điểu sào Nam or "the Viet bird always makes its nest to face the South"

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On the other hand, regular Vietnamese folks always associate themselves with "ordinary things doing extraordinary deeds." For example:

Ai đời châu chấu đá xe
Ngỡ đâu chấu ngã ai ngờ xe nghiên

I have to say that the chim Lac is a more suitable symbol for Viet Nam, it's been associated with the first great Vietnamese dynast Hong Bang and thus, is imprinted on the Dong Son drum. That means, the image has been used eversince the beginning of recorded history. It carries a mythical, mysterious, enchanted and a specifically Vietnamese characteristic.

What kind of bird is "Chim La.c"?

I tried looking up the Nom but it wasn't any help.



Both characters have a bird radical and the other part indicate the pronounciation.

It's similar to a crane.

It's a mythical bird, like the Chinese Dragon. Lac. (Luo in Chinese) is one of the five main tribes of Yue in Southern China - Min, Gan, Lu, Ou and Luo.

The only "mythical bird" I'm familiar with is the phoenix. Are there any paintings or drawings of chim lac?

I'll try to find one.

I think they're the birds found in son mai (lacquer painting).

Here it is at mid page.

http://viettouch.com/pre-hist/dongson_drums.html

Cool link. Was that an engraving of a "Lac" making a meal of the fish or just some other bird? It didn't state.

i dun think i see any bird either...

I think that's the Lac bird on the drum. No artifacts from the Hung era survives the sands of time.

There is a bird there. It's chowing down a fish.

^ yeah.

that's beautiful. i haven't learned about this side of VN b4..

Chim Lac is our God! Oh Great Chim Lac, please look upon your people and provide them with prosperity, food, and shelters.

Thanks supernovasp and Doan Du for the info. I think our chim Lac really looks like a seagull.

Oh No..not those flying rats!

Muahahahaha.. funny.

I thought chim Lac would look graceful like the crane or something.

Hahaha ... I know. One of them nasty rats with wings almost got my Popeyes fried chicken leg off my hand last year on the Jersey boardwalk !

Correct me if I am wrong, but Chim Lac is is kind of like chim Yến or Yén or Én. However you spell it, I forgot.

How can anyone get birds like seagulls (flying rats) or swallows (En) to be their national symbol. They're not graceful or majestic type of birds.

Really?

I caught one with with my fishing pole on Fire Island many years ago. I was practicing a throw when the flying rat caught the bait in midair and I had to reel him in to free him. He was one loud-mouthed bastard who was kicking and screaming all the way.

Don't worry, the French' animal is a rooster! What the heck? At least our national symbol can fly and soar freely and be free with nature.

sounds farmiliar

Well, whatever it is, it was an aquatic bird. So swallow is off the list.

Heron? Egret? Any ideas?

Huh? I thought my experience was unique. No one catches a bird with a fishing pole. Anyway, I was trying to catch some flounders in the area but ending up drinking quite a few beers in the hot afternoon. That explains why I went out to catch seagulls.

troi oi con Rong la dung nhat roi...tai sao lai la con chim Lac

That's what I said earlier.

It was custumary and traditional for Vietnamese emperors from the times of Hung Vuong to Tran Anh Tong (1300) that all emperors should tatoe their legs with dragons. Tran Anh Tong abolished this tradition, so later emperors didn't do it.

make me wanna get a dragon on my other angle..

But the dragon is a Chinese symbol. We should have an animal of our own.

You mean ankle?

no; it is unique.. i've never fished ... wat i meant was "the loud-mouthed bastard who was kicking and screaming all the way".. we always fight back dun we??


and yes Tuan, i meant ankle


we have history with the dragon too.. so it's not really just for the Chinese.